The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-08-24

| STUc.
The report Of the comptroller general
for last year page 100 gives statement
Of the State taxes, the only source from
which comes the appropriations for the
College and the Citadel. From this re.
port is taken the following summary:
Total State funds from
taxation, royalty, Il
censes, &c. S766,312
Taxes paid b. railroads,
real estate IN cities
and towns, personally
IN Charleston and Co.
luu5ia ... .S2OS,GoS
Phosphate royalties 1876, 600
License fees. 1895
Bal from other sources s409, 9G4
This balance, about IS per cent. OF the
total revenue, includes rot only taxes
paid by farmers, but all country prop
erty, and all personally in towns and
cities outside of Columbia, owned by
Others than farmers. These would Offset
the taxes paid by farmers Inder other
heads. Scarcely pound OF river rock
is used in South Carolina and the royal
ty is, therefore, paid by the mining
companies or By foreign consumers.
This statement IS sufficiently accurate to
show that the farmers do lot pay three
fourths OF the taxes.
There are so many better reasons than
Ills why farmers should have fl!Il con-
sider2t;on that they can well afford to
dispense with It.
Ii the second part of the sentence
quoted the writer is again in error; for
as neiti.er the College nor the Citadel
contains special department IN theology
or in medicine, it cannot be said that
the State 'seducates preachers and doc
tors unless the writer means that q
general literary, scientific and polite
culture IS intended for preachers, doc
tors and lawyers alone, and that farmers
sons cannot or ought not derive any ad-
vantages theretrom. He could rot con-
sciou " take any such position so an
just to Tie farmer and bis son. Even
were there no technical agricultural in
struction in the College, the sons Of
farmers would still enjoy il common
with al others that general training
which is Of the utmost Importance il
enabling its possessor to enter into this
fierce intellectual competition now raging
throughout the civilized world, tie want
OF which training compels the farmers
sen or anybody else's son to take back
seat CT be run over.
But the State does much more. Not
only giving the farmers son that broad
culture he cannot secure in low grade
specialized school,, she provides for him
separate department, IL which he can
also obtain special technical, practical
training. Students who desire to be-
come lawyers are shrewd enough gen
orally to take thorough academic
course and finish off in the lsw depart
ment, and farmers sons should at least
receive tie same kind Of preparatory
training in order to fit them to cope with
these alleged ''enemies OF their race. y
Again, as military training is one Of
the features n all separate agricultural
colleges, the Citadel should not be re-
Tiled for training sssoldiers.
As it is still mooted question what
constitutes practical agricultural edu-
cation, it can only be argued, not
proven, whether this State gives such or
not. But the fact is that the plan of
education provided by South Carolina is
in the same line as that given by twenty
four States III the Union, and its Legality
is recognized by Congress, by Legisla-
lures OF States, and by large majority
OF the people Of the Union.
The charge that the farmers son can
not obtain practical mechanical educa-
ton can be directly disproTed. Thirty
or forty students during the past year
have been engaged in the workshops OF
the South Carolina College, and when
trey shall have completed their course
they will know more about ordinary
wood and iron work than many of the
carpenters and blaclsmiths in the State,
besides being thoroughly trained IN me-
chanical drawing and in the theory OF
machinery, kinematics, mechanical
technology, &c. 1t is question Of taste
whether It is better for the farmers son,
or lawyers, or doctors, or preacher
son to pay money in college to learn
aow TO fork manure, cut wood and chop
cotton, without knowing how to handle
sools, or to permit him to acquire the
details or unskilled labor at home, and
learn at college how to frame buildings,
weld tires, sharpen ploughs, rig up ma
chinery and do OTHER skilled operations
which would otherwise entail :. loss oi
nme ard money.
The Mississippi College pursues the
former course; the South Carolina the
latter. Manual labor is required in both
places, the only difference being that the
South Carolina College gives that train
ing which cannot be given at home,
while the Mississippi College, during its
seven years of existence, has taken nc
steps to give instruction in the use oi
tools, or other skilled mechanical labor
As already said there are between thirty
md forty students in the South Carolina
College acquiring this practical mechan
ical training. The charge, then, tha'
the farmer son cannot secure tLis train
ing must be chariTably 2scMbcd to shce.
ignorance, but 10 igporauce hardly ex
cusabie, since ha:i .ouc's visit to iiIs
College or five minutes pecas.l OF it:
catalogue @o,ltd nave dispeiied It. ..
Columbia, S. c.